Railway-switch



(No Model.) 7 V I E. G. HOWE. RAILWAY SWITCH. v No. 549,129. Patented Nov. 5, 1895.

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In mrml IIH HII wow UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN C. HOWE, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

RAILWAY-SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 549,129, dated November 5, 1895. Application filed September 11, 1895- Serial No. 562,218. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWIN C. HOWE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Switches, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to the class of railway-switches in which tongues are provided and arranged to be swung by magnets energized, as desired, by electrical currents for directing cars upon their proper courses at a branch or turn-out.

The object of the invention is to produce a very simple, sure, and positive device for this purpose so constructed that it will be thoroughly protected from water, ice, and snow.

To this end the invention resides in a switch device having a base that can be laid in connection with any railway-track at a branch or turn-out, with sections that form portions of the tread of the track and at the same time the poles of electromagnets, and with a swinging tongue that changes position to guide the wheels of the cars in the desired direction, which tongue at the same time forms the armature for the poles of the magnets, as more particularly hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an edge view of the device with the magnet-casing shown cut in section. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device with the top plate of the magnet-case removed, and Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the plane of the broken line of Fig. 2.

In the views, 1 indicates the bed or base plate, which is formed from some cheap nonmagnetic metal of suitable strength, as bronze or gun-metal. This base-plate usually tapers from one end toward the other, and along the edges of the upper face are located the treads or rail-sections 2 and 3 of some common magnetic metal of suitable toughness. The rail-sections are riveted or otherwise secured to the base, and connected to them about midway of their length are the cores of the electromagnets 4: and 5.

In the construction shown in the drawings the cores of the magnets and the rail-sections are formed integral, so that the entire length of each rail-section forms a pole of one of the magnets. Between these rail-sections is the swinging wedge-shaped tongue 6, of any common magnetic metal possessing suitable wearing qualities. This tongue is pivoted, as customary, by a pin passing through the larger end into the base, and a block 7 is ordinarily cast on or otherwise secured to the base back of the large end of the tongue to form a bed for the same.

Slipped upon the cores of the magnets 4 and 5 are insulated bobbins wound with the desired number of turns of the proper size of wire to produce in the pole-pieces a sufficient number of lines of force to attract the tongue when the current is sent through the coils. The yoke 8 is connected with the ends of the cores in any desired manner, and it is preferred to secure to the yoke between the magnets a third or supplemental pole 9, that will attract lines of force from both wound polepieces in such manner as to cause more lines to pass through the armature-tongue than otherwise would without the additional pole.

The wires of each magnet are joined with any suitable circuit-wires, and these circuits may be arranged to be opened or closed by any common forms of connections with moving cars by any well-known ways, or the circuits may lead to a station from which the switch may be operated by manipulating the circuits. About the magnets any suitable tight case 10 may be placed, and as there are no moving'parts projecting through the case and there is no occasion for entering this case it may be made to close very tightly and be packed in such a manner that moisture cannot pass through it into the interior. If desired, this case maybe filled with glycerine, paraffine, or other material which will exclude the entrance of moisture. magnetic knobs or projections 11 are placed Small nonin the path of movement of the swinging tongue for stopping the same before it makes contact with the rail-sections, so that when the tongue is drawn by the magnetic influence of one of the rail-poles it will not make Contact with that pole in such manner as to freeze should there be any residual magnetism therein.

By sending a current through the correct coil either of the magnets may be energized,

so that the lines of force generated in its core will pass through the tongue-armature and draw it toward the magnet that is energized, so that the switch will be turned in the desired direction. Of course, by energizing the other magnet the tongue will be drawn in the opposite direction. This construction is such that there are no moving parts or mechanisms to get out of order.

The device is simply and cheaply constructed and can be applied to any railway branch or turn-out. As there are no moving parts connected with the .magnets, they can be very tightly inclosed in a waterproof case, so that water or moisture cannot enter, and so that ice and snow will not aifect them.

The action of the device is sure and positive, for the poles of the magnets are so constructed as to obtain a strong pull on the armature-tongue, and yet the tongue is left free to be moved by hand, as at present, if desired. The connections for the magnetic circuits may follow any common and wellknown system. The tongue can be of ordinary manufacture and can be readily replaced when worn or damaged, and the switch, while it can be set in connection with any common track for moving a tongue or portion of a rail, is of course more particularly adapted and intended for use in connection with electric-railway systems.

I claim as my invention- 1. A railway switch consisting of a bed with tread sections of magnetic metal, cores of magnetic metal joined to the tread sections, coils of wire connected with an electric circuit placed upon the cores, and an armature tongue of magnetic metal movable between the treads, substantially as specified.

2. A railway switch consisting of a bed with tread sections, cores of magnetic metal that have poles forming portions of the tread sections, coils of wire connected with an electric circuit placed upon the cores, and an armature tongue of magnetic metal movable between the tread poles of the magnets, substantially as specified.

3. A railway switch consisting of a bed with tread sections of magnetic metal, an electromagnet having poles connected with the magnetic tread sections, a pole located between. two other poles, and a tongue movable between the magnetic sections of the treads, substantially as specified.

4. A railway switch having abcd with an independent swinging tongue movable upon the upper face of the bed, and an electro-magnet having a core the pole end of which forms a portion of the tread section of the switch, substantially as specified.

5. A railway switch consisting of a bed of non-magnetic metal wit-h tread sections of magnetic metal along its upper face, electromagnets connected with circuit wires having cores that form portions of the tread sections with a supplemental core connected with the magnet yoke between the wound cores, a tongue pivoted to the bed so as to swing between the treads and stops located in the path of the tongue to prevent it from freezing to the pole sections of the treads, substantially as specified.

EDWIN C. HOWE.

\Vitnesses:

H. R. WILLIAMs, E. J. HYDE.

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